The Dark Mark
by Animic
Summary: Magic so dark would stay there forever, just like the scar on Harry Potter's forehead. But Draco Malfoy refused to believe it.


|| This is in response to the 'One Word' challenge by avatarluv97 on HPFC. Using only one word of dialogue; my word was Please. ||

The Dark Mark

Blood stained the kitchen sink and was dripping onto the floor as a large wail of pain echoed throughout the Malfoy manor. As usual, the inhabitants pretended not to hear for they knew better. They would simply turn over in their beds and cry themselves to sleep as they heard the physical and mental torture of their beloved family member. His mother, his father, his wife and his son; they all tried to ignore it as Draco Malfoy stood in the bathroom, crying and screaming, as he attempted to remove his curse.

Every time Draco Malfoy saw that skull mark on his arm, he was simply reminded of all the terrible things that had happened to him. All the terrible things he had done. In the night, he heard the screams of his friend, Crabbe, may he rest in peace, as he burned to his death. He could still hear the cackle of Voldemort in his head. The cackles that came in the form of nightmares in the middle of the night and woke him from his slumber, keeping him awake through the silence. He would never forget it for the rest of his life. No one could comfort him; not even his father. Draco Malfoy was a young man when he decided to take the Dark Mark to gain his family's honor back. It wasn't a selfish act. Had he refused to take it, and his father returned from Azkaban, his father would have been murdered by Lord Voldemort. When it all came down to it, Draco Malfoy was a family man.

It was easy for Harry Potter. Was it so hard to die for your family? Your friends? No, dying for your loved ones was a simple task. Dying wouldn't have been enough for Draco's family. If Draco died for his family, his family would not only be killed, but dishonored. It was nothing like Harry Potter. Any hero could die for their loved ones; but it took a very brave soul, indeed, to kill for them. To be willing to cause the death of another being so that your loved ones could live. So you could live for your family's honor.

At least, this was what Draco Malfoy tried to tell himself as he cooped himself up in the bathroom on several nights with only himself and his curse. His mark. His father had told him time and time again that the mark could never be removed. Magic so dark would stay there forever, just like the scar on Harry Potter's forehead. But Draco Malfoy refused to believe it. If muggles could remove tattoos, then so could Draco Malfoy. He couldn't look at the tattoo any longer. Every time his son glanced at the tattoo, he wanted to scream. This was not the father he wanted to be. He didn't want to be a Death Eater anymore. He wanted to be a good role model for his son. Someone that Scorpius would be proud to call his father. Not this broken down mess of a man with living, physical proof that he was a terrible person. This wasn't what he wanted.

Every spell that Draco Malfoy had tried on his arm had caused him more pain than any werewolf could attest to. Needles were digging out of Draco Malfoy's skin in a reaction to the spell and Draco Malfoy screamed out in pain. On his knees now, clenching his wrist, the blood flowed onto the floor and Draco tried a different spell. The tattoo became on fire, burning the edges of the skin around it and Draco screamed through his gritted teeth.

"Please," he begged to his bloodied and burning arm. He would never ask for anything else as long as he lived so long as this dark curse was behind him. Looking at it every day left such a hole in his heart. The fear that was placed in people's eyes when they saw that scar terrified him. He was forever an outcast. He couldn't live like this.

The door to the bathroom opened and he saw his wife, Astoria, standing at the door with a very worried glance. Astoria had been there from the very beginning. While Lucius had told his son that the mark would never go away, Astoria never said such a thing. Of course, she didn't say that it _would_ go away, either. She was simply there for him. Suddenly, Draco broke into tears and Astoria rushed towards her husband, not caring about getting her night gown stained with blood. Taking his arm with her hands, Astoria scanned the damage done to his arm. She pursed her lips together as she saw the burned skin tissue and the small splotches of blood. Tears rolled down her face as she lifted his arm up to her lips and kissed his dark mark, then lifted her head and kissed him. They held each other for most of the night, not saying a word.

* * *

><p>|| I hoped you liked it! I've had this idea in my head for some time now, actually, because I figured that Draco Malfoy would seriously want to be rid of that Dark Mark curse. I hope I captured his essense well. I tend to focus more on Draco in most of my stories, because I think he is a very in-depth and deep character. He's been through a lot of torture. And I'm more of a DracoAstoria fan than anything else. Anyway, thanks for reading! ||


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